Stars Makeup Haven shadows are sold as pans (which fit into their own 12-, 15-, or 28-pan palettes, or MAC’s 4-pan or 15-pan palettes. Or Elf palettes). They’re $4.95 each, and you can buy them at StarsMakeupHaven.com or AllCosmeticsWholesale.com.

As you know, I swatch everything without a base. By swatching under identical conditions, I feel I can compare one set of swatches to another — seeing what was creamy, what was chalky, etc.

When I first “met” Stars Makeup Haven, I was most impressed by their absurdly pigmented eyeshadows —Â even without a base, the colors were brilliantly intense and creamy. But several of the new shades are a different formula. They’re more like MAC’s Mineralize Shadows, and without a base, they don’t stick very well.I thought Primal, Charisma, and Rebel Yell did just fine, even without a base. Vintage, Protege, Aurora, Black Forest, Peri-wink, and Paramour held up pretty well, too. But I felt I was doing these shadows a disservice by not swatching them under realistic conditions.

So I reswatched, using moisturizer as a base (Nivea Original Lotion — nice for your hands, not for your eyelids). I think you can see that using a base made a huge difference. The shades are really vibrant — almost at a Solar Bits level of intensity. If Mineralize shadows and Solar Bits are products you love, definitely check these out.So about that contest. I have two sets of the 15 new shades, and I’m going to give one away to a Facebook friend, and one to a Twitter follower.

If you follow me on Twitter, leave a comment here with your Twitter name.

Facebook friends, further instructions will be posted on Facebook.

This contest ends on Friday at midnight, and is open to readers anywhere in the world.